Cleve Marshall (Wendell Corey) is an assistant district attorney who falls for the shadowy Thelma Jordon (Barbara Stanwyck). With her sordid past — and her relationship with thief Tony Laredo (Richard Rober) — kept secret from the married attorney, Jordon seduces the easily swayed Marshall, and uses him to cover up her misdeeds. When Jordon becomes the prime suspect for the murder of her wealthy aunt, she turns to Marshall, who goes to great lengths to clear her name.